Molecular and Neuronal Basis of Innate Behaviors in the Mouse

Our group is using molecular, genetic and electrophysiological techniques to explore the molecular and neuronal basis of innate social behaviors in the mouse. We are studying the architecture and functional logic of neuronal circuits underlying pheromone signaling. What is the nature of the mammalian pheromones and of the receptors that detect them? How are pheromone signals processed in the brain to generate species- and sex-specific behaviors? What are the basic developmental processes that ensure appropriate neuronal connections between the olfactory sensory neurons and the brain? What are the respective roles of sensory experience and genetic information in setting appropriate pheromone-induced behaviors, and how are circuits underlying sex-specific behaviors established in the male and female brains?  A second set of projects explores the phenomenon of genomic imprinting in the brain, and its role in brain development and adult brain function. Genomic imprinting is emerging as a major and dynamic mode of epigenetic regulation of brain function, with direct implications for the understanding of evolution and disease. 

Please plan to join us for this distinguished lecture. Reception to follow.

To register for the lecture, please click on this link:  https://www.onlineregistrationcenter.com/register.asp?m=275&c=53

Speaker: Catherine Dulac